Here is a generic opener that gets you a 2nd gas at a reasonable time (21 food, not too shabby), and can go into whatever style you'd like.

9 Pylon12 Gateway14 Gas15 Pylon17 Core18 Zealot21 Gas (2nd)22 Stalker + wg (don't cb stalker; ~3 cb on WG should be fine. You just need to be able to get out a 2nd sentry with WG in time for the 2nd forcefield and that is all!)25 Pylon (make sure you start this @100 mins!!26 Stalker; CB it!!!29 Tech structure of your choice! or additional gates if youre a scaredy cat30 Sentry

This will net you a zealot and 2 stalkers by the time any kind of approach comes. Get to the 2ndary ramp asap!

This is the formation you want:

This is not what you want:

In the first screen capture, the stalkers are at the very lip of the ramp so that they are out of sight and can shoot the probe asap. In the 2nd one, they might have to move after you see the probe in order to start. bad! You might even consider having both stalkers closer to the inside corner of the ramp, still on the lip but hugging the wall where the probe will most likely try to mineral walk through.

Here comes the approach:

this game I didn't scout so I waste a few shots on the stalker before targeting the probe. As you'll see, this is fine even if he gets up 2 pylons below the ramp.

Kill the probe, and then kill the stalker. This shouldn't be a problem with any kind of reasonable correct micro:

After you kill the stalker for free, kill the zealot while retreating up your ramp. Your sentry should be done now. You want to kill the zealot before his pylons + WG is done to prevent an above-ramp warp-in or you're dead.

Once the zealot is dead, focus down the pylons 1 by 1. Only use your 1st forcefield when he is about to get vision up the ramp:

You should only get a 2nd sentry if you're being aggressed. Chain your 2nd ff with the first one:

Once the 2nd ff is down, you are in great shape! continue to warp in as many sentries as you need to keep chaining forcefields.

You'll bring down the 2nd pylon as your 2nd ff is in place, and then you've got it! It's really easy to forget your pylon on 32! Make sure you don't, or you might run out of FFs and lose immediately

This is most likely common knowledge for a lot of folks, but since I still hear people talking about losing to 4gate, I thought I'd share this little bit. I learned this from nAni at MLG. He did this build:

9 Pylon12 Gateway14 Gas15 Pylon17 Core18 Zealot21 Gas (2nd)22 Stalker + wg (don't cb stalker; ~3 cb on WG should be fine. You just need to be able to get out a 2nd sentry with WG in time for the 2nd forcefield and that is all!)25 Pylon (make sure you start this @100 mins!!26 Stalker; CB it!!!29 Twilight Council30 Sentry32 Gate32 Gate32 Pylon** whatever you need to defend, then a robo and an obs **

If you aren't being agressed, you don't need to warp in anything until you have started your robo! cool stuff.

Anyway, try out this build and see how you like it. nani didn't really cut probes once he started producing units, and he expoed when I saw him do this against HuK after doing damage to HuK's earlier expansion, and then absolutely smoked the poor boy!

The reason this is most/more effective on maps with a 2ndary ramp is that the approach MUST go through a single point, so it's easier to focus down the probe. You can do this to some degree on other maps, as well, but you should NEVER lose to 4g on the maps specified in the intro doing this! gl!

If he saves an extra chrono & builds 2nd stalker before 2/3/4th gate (or it is a small map) he can pressure hard with 1z 2st and force you to waste that early FF (or you risk losing your sentry) and it'll be difficult to get a 2nd sentry out (if i remember correctly perfect execution you can't afford to use the first FF until 5:45 so you have time to get a 2nd sentry out).

Also, if he makes you waste the first FF quickly and then the 2nd one with 1 gateway you won't be able to get a 3rd sentry out quick enough.

I do the same build except i build a 2nd gate and start the sentry before the tech building. Feels much safer to me.

On December 25 2011 14:27 Complete wrote:If he saves an extra chrono & builds 2nd stalker before 2/3/4th gate (or it is a small map) he can pressure hard with 1z 2st and force you to waste that early FF (or you risk losing your sentry) and it'll be difficult to get a 2nd sentry out (if i remember correctly perfect execution you can't afford to use the first FF until 5:45 so you have time to get a 2nd sentry out).

Also, if he makes you waste the first FF quickly and then the 2nd one with 1 gateway you won't be able to get a 3rd sentry out quick enough.

I do the same build except i build a 2nd gate and start the sentry before the tech building. Feels much safer to me.

replay of this? seems like his 2nd stalker would be much too late to be of any help here.

Great guide! I'll definitely be using this. Tangential question - what do you usually do after you stop the 4gate? Go back to your normal build? Apply pressure in case he puts down an expansion immediately after?

Nice, this is slightly different from the way I defend, but I like it a lot with the early zealot, except for the key fact that you could be in some trouble if your 2nd gas gets stolen. I guess you could just 4gate yourself, but if your opponent defends they're in great shape. That's why I usually go 2nd gas first instead of getting the zealot, but of course getting the zealot has its advantages.

'life of lively to live to life of full life thx to shield battery'
how sad that sc2 has no shield battery :(

On December 26 2011 07:54 Latedi wrote:Thanks so much <3 I was trying to tell monk that you could defend a 4gate like this but he just wouldn't listen xD

This is nothing like what you were trying to convince me of. You were trying to say that 3 gate blind robo is perfectly safe on all maps. The technique represented in this post is only applicable on maps with ramps or chokes. More importantly, you were arguing this before the patch that nerfed 4 gate. In a previous patch, this technique wouldn't work either because of ramp vision.

On December 26 2011 07:54 Latedi wrote:Thanks so much <3 I was trying to tell monk that you could defend a 4gate like this but he just wouldn't listen xD

This is nothing like what you were trying to convince me of. You were trying to say that 3 gate blind robo is perfectly safe on all maps. The technique represented in this post is only applicable on maps with ramps or chokes. More importantly, you were arguing this before the patch that nerfed 4 gate. In a previous patch, this technique wouldn't work either because of ramp vision.

That depends a lot on your exact build, micro etc imo. Opinions and preferences basically. I'm glad Alej could explain it so well for me

On December 26 2011 07:54 Latedi wrote:Thanks so much <3 I was trying to tell monk that you could defend a 4gate like this but he just wouldn't listen xD

This is nothing like what you were trying to convince me of. You were trying to say that 3 gate blind robo is perfectly safe on all maps. The technique represented in this post is only applicable on maps with ramps or chokes. More importantly, you were arguing this before the patch that nerfed 4 gate. In a previous patch, this technique wouldn't work either because of ramp vision.

That depends a lot on your exact build, micro etc imo. Opinions and preferences basically. I'm glad Alej could explain it so well for me

I remember the thread you were referring to.

Of course opinions and preferences can differ, but at the same time can be wrong. Yes, I have to say that blind 3 gate robo is just silly to assume that it's safe against a 4 gate.